The Camaro Club (UK)

Why did you decide to buy an American car, what influenced you to do it?

When I was an apprentice, my mentor was 10 years older than me & always talked about the old American cars he & his brothers had owned. He lived & breathed the things. I'd always been into the vintage/customising thing since the age of 11. Owning a Yank seemed like a cheap way to get a powerful car on the road with minimal amount of effort. So at the tender age of 21 I took that tentative step & bought a '69 Firebird for £550.00, WoW!! what a car. Restored it over a few years & managed to get it featured in Hot Rod & Custom Magazine & the rest is history & been on the slippery slope ever since, cheers..Nige

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Too much power...not enough hands!!

for me it was a childhood watching Starsky & Hutch, dukes of hazard, Knight Rider, ateam etc.

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Steven
Webmaster
83 Chevy G-20 A-Team Van 305/700R4

I've always had a sordid love affair with cars. However, I didn't really start taking a keen interest until I bought my first Scirocco about 3 years ago. I got so engrossed in tinkering with it that I naturally join a forum, then started meeting other owners and that was it. I can't beleive it took me so long.

Anyway, there was only so much you could do to a standard 90bhp carb engine without spending massive amounts of cash so a couple of years ago I stumbled across a black third gen Firebird. I knew NOTHING about this car only that it looked cool and was the car used in Knight Rider which I loved to watch as a boy. So I bought it for well over the top money mainly because I couldn't get any decent advice !

I have to admit though, Steve (Cowboy) did call me up and was extremely helpful. He talked to me for ages and gave me some advice (not on prices though). I used his mate to get the car serviced aswell (which was quite a hefty bill but I was pleased with his work and the result).

When I moved to Germany last year I bought another one in red for less than half the price I paid for the black one, and it was in better condition ! Sold that on Tuesday night and now have a 4th gen Firebird and of course my 4th gen Z28.

I want a 2nd gen Trans Am next but I need to find one that I can love. I don't have the skills or even a garage to work on cars myself (yet) but when I do, I want a old classic that I can strip down in my own time and take 2-3 years putting back together.

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1993 Chevrolet Camaro - Buck

since the days i can remember my old man was taking me to american car weekends, billiing aquadrome, weymouth, run to the sun (before it got shit), cheltnam,
waking up in a tent by the noise of v8s cruising around.

now everytime i hear a v8 it doesnt soemthing to me haha
anyway as soon as i could afford a cheap(ish) yank i bought one at the age of 20 (now)

Watching the movies, all my Uncles and dad had American cars so brought up on them. Bought my first camaro at 14 owned many since and still own a few, I must like them a bit to specialise in them.

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none of my family are in to american cars, ive always loved them

Given unlimited funds what would you buy to satisfy your automotive needs, would it be American or is it just that the Yanks are an affordable alternative to what you really want?

cheers....Nige

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Too much power...not enough hands!!

I'd still buy a Yank. 100%.

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Steven
Webmaster
83 Chevy G-20 A-Team Van 305/700R4

Well i've always been into cars, since I was young (like 6 or 7) and remember my dad putting a custon stainless exhaust on his 1989 ford xr3i. Although no one is into american cars, I saved up and have restored other cars to make some cash and gone bigger and better each time. It wasnt till i was 18 ish that a guy who works in the body shop near my dad's work brought a 69 (i think) roadunner in on his trailer, and was doing burnouts in the parking area etc, my dad rung me and I went for a gander. It was awesome. Then I started going to York to the super stocks, and though "I'd love a yank car". I started to look and toyed with a 89 corvette, 97 stang, 75 camaro, 95 camaro z28 and my 99 camaro z28. As Nige says I wanted the car that was gonna be the fastest for the cash, i'd done a bit of tuning in the past but money starts getting silly making a 170 bhp car get to 300+. Not with a V8. Anyways, the 99 z28 was going to be the best bang for buck, i got a really good price and it was the best of the bunch. I would have liked the 75 but its my Daily Driver and has to do at least double figure econony hahaha .

If I had endless funds I would get a Vette or 2, spend some money doing the camaro up, and buy a first gen and put a 4th gen LS1 in

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'99 Z28 A4, 253 LS2 heads, 228R TSP cam, Patriol Dual Springs, Double roller timing chain, LS6 ported oil pump, OBX LTs, 3" True Duals, LS6 intake, 42lb/hr injectors, SLP lid + bellow, EFIlive COS 3 Speed Denisty Tune (self tuned), 3200 Circle D stall, CAI mod, KYB AGXs, Eibach Pro Front Springs, UMI panhard, LCA + Brackets, Strut Brace, Custom Subframe connectors, WS6 axle with 3.42s, 18" American Racing Rebels, US mirrors, 93 tail lights, 3.5 inch custom cowl hood. Mickey T's Street DRs on Vette-ZR1 wheels for the strip !
Best ET: 12.0 @ 116 mph (on a 0-60ft of 1.8 s)

I've been into cars/rods/yanks since i was about 12 years old, I went to my first custom show at age 15, (at the Norbreck park hotel in Blackpool no less !) and at 16, i bought a mkII escort which went through the typical mods of RS alloys, mexico spoilers, 2 litre pinto, forrest arches etc.
over the next few years i had a sucession of minis and escorts/capris etc, i even built a nice baja beetle but i always yearned for a yank, and the 2nd gen camaro in particular.
Finally , at the age of 26, i bought a white 1978 camaro Z28 with a 4 speed manual box. (at the time i was spending £15 a week on petrol and getting 30 mpg, i figured on getting 15 mpg from a camaro thereby spending £30 a week on petrol. this wasn't bad considering it was a daily driver and my only car)
In the 14 years Since then, i have owned 2 second gen camaros (the last one being tube framed and supercharged), a second gen transam, a 1971 ford torino gt and now a tube framed 1968 camaro.

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I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE......



I'M JUST TOO DAMNED TIRED TO BOTHER CHASING YOU !